The Ravages of Time
by Janec Shannon
Summary: ONE-SHOT Yuuri reflects on human mortality and how it affects those with a Mozaku lifespan.


_**The Ravages of Time**_

By Janec Shannon

**Summary: **[ONE-SHOT] Yuuri reflects on human mortality and how it affects those with a Mozaku lifespan.

**Disclaimer:** I don't KKM.

.oO***Oo.

Yuuri stared down at his old friend. Her face was wrinkled now; her light blue hair had long turned silver. She looked to only be sleeping, and if he hadn't known better he would have thought that she was. She was the last of his old human friends to go, living well into her 100's. Even Yuuri was not so naïve not to have seen this coming.

Unexpectedly the first of his friends to die had been Antoine and Lyra from Francia. They're country had been overrun by a plague that had effected peasants and nobility alike, as plagues usually do. Among the hundreds of others both the king and queen had been taken.

Yuuri shouldn't have been surprised: Lyra always was a hands-on queen; the fact that there was little she could do never stopped her. She ended up catching the illness herself and Antoine's will to live died with her. Their son, Anthony, had taken over and had proven to be a good king. His mother's fiery passion and guts with his father's caution was certainly an interesting combination but it was a good one that had served the country well over the last 40 years he had been ruling.

Greta had returned to her country to rule at the age of 20. Yuuri had, of course, offered her whatever means she needed to get the war ravaged country back to its former glory. It was a given that eventually his little girl would fall in love and get married. He _knew_ it would happen, really he did, he just hadn't expected it to come so soon. Although in all honesty it wasn't _that_ soon, she was 30 when she married, but still… It had _seemed_ too soon. He could still remember the boy's (because to Yuuri that's what he was, a boy at the mere age of 32) reaction to meeting him.

The boy had come to Shin Makoku and asked for an audience with "The Moah and his honorable husband Wolfram". Yuuri had nearly laughed at his formality but had granted the audience. The poor boy nearly pissed his pants in fear and nervousness when he entered the throne room. The look of confusion on his face seeing Yuuri and Wolfram (who at the time only look to be maybe 20 at best) had been classic. Imagine asking someone who looked 10 years your junior for their daughter's hand in marriage, Yuuri could sympathize with the boy. Wolfram had not been pleased but since when is Wolfram pleased about anything? Yuuri had managed to convince him to grant the boy his blessing as well.

Wolfram had disappeared from Shin Makoku for several months after that, Yuuri had figured he had gone off to sulk. Another thing Yuuri could sympathize with, he had almost felt like sulking himself, but he knew that the boy would make Greta happy so he was happy as well. Surprisingly, Wolfram hadn't disappeared to sulk; he had disappeared to help Greta plan her wedding. What was even more surprising is he not only allowed Yuuri to be the one to walk her down the aisle, he had insisted on it. And then Yuuri had had to give that stupid Three Fukuro speech…

Geeze, you say something once and suddenly it becomes the traditional wedding speech that everyone _has_ to have said at their wedding…

But even his sweet Greta wasn't immune to the hands of time. If he thought his heart had broken when she left to rule her country then it was completely shattered when she died. His only condolence was that she left him with two beautiful grandchildren who eventually gave him great-grandchildren (boy did _that_ thought make him feel old… great-grandchildren…)

Yuuri couldn't help but wonder if the reason Mazoku and humans never really got along before was not only because the humans feared the power difference, but because both sides feared the aging difference as well. He had seen enough to know by now that humans tended to resent how the Mazoku don't appear to age, and most Mazoku tended to avoid creating close friendships with humans because it hurt to watch your friends wither and die.

This was a lesson Yuuri had learned the hard way over the years.

Fortunately it was a lesson he learned quickly. Not for the first time he was grateful for the timelag between Shin Makoku and Earth, it was because of that timelag his parents were still alive and Yuuri made sure to make regular visits to them. He treasured his remaining time with them. They weren't aware of how much time had passed for him, Yuuri was sure Shori would throw a fit if he knew that his precious little brother was now more than fifty years his senior.

Shori was only just beginning to learn the lesson of time as Yuuri had. It was the one thing that Bob could not teach him, it was a lesson that must be learned on his own. As much as Yuuri wanted to save his brother from the pain of learning this lesson, he knew he could not. All he could do is wait for the ravages of time to break his brother's heart then make sure he was around to help him to pick up the pieces.

This is where Yuuri felt especially lucky: not only his closest friends, but his entire country would age with him. Oh sure, he would have to watch his human friends and family die, but at least it wasn't everyone he knew. Shori, on the other hand, would remain frozen while _everyone_ around him aged. Although now that Yuuri thought about it, Jose didn't seem to age either so maybe his brother would at least have him. That was a comfort, a small one but better than nothing.

Yuuri felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at the owner. Conrad was giving him an understanding smile which Yuuri returned with a sad smile of his own. Yuuri turned away from Lady Flynn. She was not the first he had lost and she would not be the last. He would continue to befriend, live, and watch die… morbid as it sounds…

He knows each time one of his friends dies his heart will break a little, but Time heals all wounds. The same Time that takes his friends away will repair the cracks they leave in his heart.

So he will spend what little time he can with them. He will treasure the memories he has of them. He will watch their children grow then watch as those children have children of their own. He will watch as countries change leaders and he will do his best to befriend those new leaders. Some he will, some he won't. Some will choose to leave the alliance, some will choose to join. Then, as the years pass, he will once again watch as those new leaders have children and repeat the process.

He will do all of this, and likely more, but most importantly…

_He will protect this world with everything he has so they can continue to do so. _


End file.
